I DIDN'T PUNCH CRAIG

DEAN SHIELS last night insisted he was wrongly sent off for barging into Craig Gordon seconds after beating him from the penalty spot in the most explosive Edinburgh derby for years.

Hibs' Irish frontman was adamant the collision with the keeper was accidental but he was red-carded and Hearts went on to beat their city rivals 3-2.

Linesman Willie Dishington told referee Mike McCurry that Shiels had punched the Jambos skipper after levelling the game at 2-2 but TV evidence showed this was not the case.

However, Shiels did have an arm raised as he ran into the net and Gordon needed treatment.

Hibs manager John Collins strongly backed his player while Hearts boss Valdas Ivanauskas insisted the officials got it right.

But Shiels said: "The linesman came over and accused me of punching Craig Gordon and I totally deny that.

"The referee has given it for a punch. There was no punch there - I was running to get the ball and that was it.

"There was only one team trying to play football and that was us. I'm really disappointed."

Collins not only had a go at the officials but made it clear he felt Gordon had faked an injury.

The manager said: "The linesman told me that my player punched the Hearts keeper but I have watched it five times now and if you can see a punch there then you have better eyesight than me.

"He is going to get the ball. Dean has scored a penalty, his momentum has taken him forward and he is going to celebrate the goal.

"He ran into the keeper, trying to get the ball, nine and a half stone going into 14 stone. I don't have to say any more than that.

"I'm sure Craig Gordon will now be on his way to hospital with all the damage done to him.

"I spoke with Dean and he told me there was no punch.

"He maybe should not have run in and, instead, gone up the park. But when you score a goal such as that you want to get the ball back.

"Dean has gone into the goal and there has been a collision after the keeper stepped to the side. In my humble opinion, it was not a red card.

"That has cost us the game. At 2-2 the momentum has swung in our favour.

"I will think about appealing.

"Dean has come into the team after being on my bench.

"He scored a goal and anyone who has played football at any level knows when you score a penalty, the first thing you want to do is try to get the ball and kick off again."

Not surprisingly, Ivanauskas took a different view. He said: "I cannot understand it. He scored a goal and then he goes and does that.

"I saw how he approached Gordon. I saw a red card. It was not clever by him."

Collins was full of praise for the way his players battled back from 2-0 down and how they dealt with having to play the rest of the game with 10 men.

He said: "These games are always fast and furious. In the second half my players were exceptional. They passed the ball well and gave me a great reaction.

"If I was a betting man, I would say we would have gone on to win had it not been for the sending-off. We deserved to win.

"We can take positives from the game. Our play in the second half was excellent. We dominated a derby game away from home. That tells you everything about some of my players.

"If anyone who watched the game doesn't agree we were the only team trying to play football, they don't know what they are talking about.

But one player who wasn't praised by Collins was Hibs keeper Zibi Malkowski whose latest blunder led to Hearts grabbing their second goal.

Collins said: "We gave away shockingly soft goals. Now we have to try to get rid of that.

"I spoke to my keeper. That should be bread and butter for him and I told him it wasn't good enough."

Taken from the Daily Record